James Franco stars as mountain climber Aron Ralston in '127 Hours.'
James Franco stars as mountain climber Aron Ralston in '127 Hours.'
‘127 Hours’ review
Bojana Duric Contributor
While it could have been an uneventful and boring one-man show, director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) easily makes 127 Hours into an inspiring story about determination and the quality of life.
127 Hours tells the story of real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston (played by James Franco), who was trapped in a deserted canyon in Utah with his arm stuck against a chalkstone boulder in 2003. The only way for Ralston to escape was to cut off his arm.
Boyle keeps the movie raw by allowing the viewers to feel for the character. The entire thing is filmed to mimic an actual documentary, which had the TIFF audience squirming in their seats wanting to take their eyes off the screen during the life-like gory scenes.
Meanwhile, Franco does an outstanding job of portraying Ralston and maintains a great balance between comedy and drama. He uses his witty charm to get the audience to make light of the situation and his dramatic approach to show the excruciating pain his character goes through physically and emotionally.
The film shows how determination can get you out of any situation and how important the little things are in life; nothing should be taken for granted. Not only did 127 Hours get a standing ovation, it has Oscar buzz written all over it.
